Pregnancy is widely recognized as one of the most vulnerable periods in a woman’s life. The occurrence of domestic violence during this stage not only jeopardizes the mother’s physical and mental health, but may also seriously compromise fetal viability and development. Given that criminal-law responses and other ex post interventions have proven insufficient to effectively address this largely hidden phenomenon, the present study seeks to delineate the role and status of social and health-oriented preventive interventions in reducing the victimization of pregnant women facing domestic violence.
This research is applied in purpose and employs a descriptive–analytical design. Data were collected through a library-based review of legal sources, criminological scholarship, and relevant medical and clinical protocols, supplemented by qualitative analysis of expert perspectives in the fields of reproductive health and criminology.
The findings suggest that healthcare personnel—particularly obstetricians and gynecologists—owing to their sustained contact with pregnant women throughout prenatal care, occupy a pivotal position in the early identification of abuse and the implementation of situational prevention measures. The adoption of standardized clinical screening protocols to detect concealed violence, when integrated with social preventive interventions (including strengthening couples’ communication skills, broad-based public education, and the activation of social work and welfare-support networks), plays a critical role in disrupting cycles of abuse and reducing secondary and repeat victimization among pregnant women.
Effective prevention of domestic violence against pregnant women requires moving beyond a single-track penal approach toward a multi-agency preventive criminal policy. The development of a structured referral pathway linking healthcare institutions (as primary identifiers) with social-support agencies (as supportive responders) can provide the necessary legal and operational foundations to safeguard women’s reproductive health and enhance fetal safety.